Charming and cozy.

A true oasis. Charming streets all around. Beautiful cozy accomodations at a great location. This is a great value and I recommend it highly. Will stay there each time.

Hot and Irritated

from anonymous

Kudos to the visitor from Fremont who wrote the October 13 review. We too stayed at the Sofitel recently and were likewise shocked and dismayed that it was an inferno in the room at night. I don't know where the other visitor stayed within the hotel, but we were in the back area on a higher floor, and it was so hot it was impossible to sleep. I too opened the window just to receive a hord of mosquitos as well. So disappointing in a 4-star hotel that is part of a normally reliable chain. Yeah, I guess that there were good things about the hotel, but I can't remember any of them because I was delirious from heat exhaustion my entire stay.

What a huge disappointment!

from ParisDreamin'

OK, so I pride myself on being fair, so I'll start with the good. The location of this hotel is fantastic. It's on a street about midway between the train station and the Duomo, no more than about a 10 minute walk from either. Plus, the staff is quite friendly and generally helpful. The room was nice, and clean. Now for the awful. No, I'm not going to gripe about the renovations, although they were going on while we were just there a little over a week ago. To me this was not at all bothersome. No, what I am going to gripe about is an inane policy/decision to turn off the air-conditioning at 11:00 pm, simply because "summer is over." I was very careful to reserve hotels on this, our honeymoon trip, that have air-conditioning, realizing that it can be quite humid in Italy, having been there on a number of previous occasions. Well, we naturally were not in the hotel room during the course of the day, as most tourists aren't, but the A/C was on then. At night the first night of our stay, I woke up in the middle of the night with the room temperature about 85 degrees and muggy. Now I don't know about others' preferences, but I like it to be fairly cool when I sleep. I was surprised given the fact that I had left the A/C on, I thought. Even my wife found it oppressively warm, and she actually likes it warm when she sleeps. I proceeded to open the windows instead, and the two of us slept fitfully for the remainder of the evening. We awoke to find that we had a combined 23 mosquito bites that we had accumulated because I had left the window open in hopes of cooling the room. When I asked the next day, the very courteous desk clerk told us that she would have maintenance look into it, but later that day informed us of the hotel policy of turning off the A/C at 11:00 pm. I explained to her that it was stifling in the room at night because of this and described our subsequent mosquito infestation, which I found to be a health hazard (I'm an MD). She was apologetic but explained that there was nothing that could be done. She suggested not turning on the A/C that night, as hot air was probably being blown into the room at 11:00pm if the A/C was left on. It didn't matter. We left the A/C off after 11:00 pm, and it was still stifling in the room that night. For obvious reasons, I did not open the windows, although we still picked up some new mosquito bites that night, presumably from leftover bugs that had entered the room the night before. Before you think that I might just be a complainer, consider the fact that we stayed in three other hotels in three other cities during this trip, and I found them all to be wonderful. I found this stupid policy to be utter nonsense and completely inflexible. This is perhaps acceptable in a less expensive hotel. Not in what is supposedly a four-star hotel at a rate of about $350 per night. We loved Florence, but I'd rather sleep on the street than at the Sofitel again. I'd still have the mosquito problem, but at least I'd be comfotably cooler. Shame on them.

Great location but more to be desired

from anonymous

I was somewhat concerned based upon latest review about renovations taking place in the hotel. However, I took a chance as I was staying about a month after the August '04 review. Needless to say, when I arrived the entire lobby was being renovated along with the bar. I almost slipped twice on the floor covering they had down.

I do agree the location is great. Being near the train station was convenient. If you are taking the train to Florence don't get a taxi to the hotel. It is less than 5 minute walk away. It is also a 2 minute walk from the Duomo and less than 10 to the Galleria Accademia where you can view David.

As for the room, I have no complaints. The room was clean and the furnishings were fine. The breakfast buffet was above average in relation to other buffets I had at other hotels while travelling in Italy. I made the mistake of relying on the front-desk staff for restaurant reservations. I've since learned if the hotel doesn't have a concierge avoid restaurant recommendations. Otherwise the staff was helpful and was able to get me tickets to the Ufizzi and other museums, saving me long line waits.

Without the renovations, I'd recommend staying, but call ahead and make sure the hotel isn't doing major work. Happy travels...

Excellent stay in Florence

from anonymous

We arrived in Florence by train and walked to the Hotel with luggage in tow. Hotel was within 10 mins walking distance from train station and easy to find. The location is excellent and convenient. The staff was very helpful and very accommodating. Our room was large and comfortable for 4 people (my husband, myself, and 2 teenage daughters). The room was clean and offered room safe and small refrigerator. Nice bathrooms with all the amenities. Very good breakfast buffet each morning. Although there was some renovation being done we were able to order evening cocktails in the air conditioned lobby.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. The Hotel is within walking distance of everything. We plan on going back to Florence again and we will definitely return to Hotel Sofitel!

Would recommend to anyone.

from anonymous

My friend and I stayed in room 306 July 5-9, double bedded corner room, quite large, very nice marble bathroom, always a clean and cool oasis to return to after a hot day hiking around Florence. Comfy bed, nice linens, nice toiletries too.

Convenient to everything. Extremely accomodating and friendly young staff, spoke German, French, Italian, Spanish and English fluently between them. Also a nice buffet to choose from in the morning, and a fridge in the room to keep your own drinks. My only negative comment would be the funky odor in the public areas. A bit stinky. It may be a little generic, but after 2 weeks in Italy I had had enough surprises. Completely worth the price, I would definitely stay again.

Great location, known quantity

from texas spot

I stayed at the Sofitel Firenze for a week in late May 2004. I agree with the other reviews. It is THE place to stay if you are arriving by train and don't have too much luggage. Exit the train station by the escalators to the north down to the parking garage and shopping arcades. Go east through the shopping arcades and turn to the left when you see an exit to the street in front of you. Do not take the exit in front of you; turn to the left and continue walking. The exit in the front is adjacent to the Santa Maria Novella exit. This would be across the street from the Sofitel. When you exit to the left, you will be on the north side of the street which will run in to Via Cerretani which is the street for the Sofitel. There are no steps and it is possible to pull rolling luggage. The Sofitel often has specials and the staff was very, very friendly. They also had accurate and up-to-date information on local transportation, including the surrounding regions. This is a convenient hotel from which to access local bus service as well.

Cool, clean and comfortable

from anonymous

Stayed at the Sofitel for 5 nights. Location central and excellent. Rooms large, spotless and comfortable with good bathrooms, minibar, room safe etc. Our first room, 216, was lovely but the only window overlooked a tiny dark atrium, so we got no daylight. A request for a change was dealt with promptly and we moved across the corridor to 217. Two windows overlooked the street but the double glazing and effective air-conditioning made the room quiet and cool. Breakfast buffet very good.

Great location, dependable chain.

from anonymous

We just stayed at the Sofitel and I can highly recommend it. What it lacks in character (we could have been in any city in the world), it makes up for in location, service, and comfort. The hotel is just a few blocks from the train station, and is an easy walk to all the major sites (just a few blocks from the Duomo). The rooms were clean, large, and comfortable, with all the amenities (I must make note of the lousy hairdryer though.) The front desk staff was fine; we dealt several times with a very pleasant young woman at the front desk who checked us in, got us reservations to the Uffizi, and booked us dinner reservations. Little touches like turndown service and a daily weather forecast were also quite nice. The breakfast was pretty good although nothing to write home about, and the service was brisk and efficient. Overall, if you don't care about having an "Italian" experience but just want a solid, reliable, and conveniently located hotel where you'll be able to get a nice hot shower and a good night's sleep, this is a good choice.

Great stay.

from Sophiepuppie

Stayed here for a long weekend last month in a king size room. Very large . First class service, friendly staff . Very clean and top quality furnishings. Quiet,although situated 2 mins from Duomo hotel has double/double glazing and we had NO noise at all from street or other rooms. We flew to Pisa and took the train . Hotel 5 mins walk from station,very well signposted. It was an excellent choice.

Travel Blogs from Florence

... down the streets. We are close, I know it, Brendan spots the AC sign, we have made it. Settle into our small room, what will it be like when Juniper and rabbit arrive tomorrow? Find a place nearby to eat, head back to the AC.

... of Emma’s cousin. In the words of our very pleasant, but amusingly abrupt waiter, “it is food like the Mama makes”.

It was a memorable meal. The Japanese girl, Mirai ordered the most horrific smelling, tasting and textured dish of broiled cow gut (no ****- except perhaps in the dish), which she loved. Alternatively, having tasted a piece, I was overcome by a sensation for the whole meal that a piece of cow gut was in ...

... Because of the square’s slope, the locals can be found sprawling on the paving stones facing generally in the same direction, as if on a beach. On the day of my visit, there was a chocolate festival occurring, with several vendors’ booths displaying their goodies.

Trekking through Europe almost requires touring churches. And after a while, it is easy to see them ...

The next day we went to the Academia, the museum in Florence where the statue of David stands. After waiting in line for a while, we were able to see the statue...no pictures were allowed unfortunately but I tried to sneak a few anyways. What? Everyone else was doing it. Unfortunately, the only photo I could get was of the backside of David...mostly just his butt. After this we ended up going for a walk to Piazzale Michaelangelo which overlooks the entire city ...

... of a fat man riding a turtle though, no idea who he was! We missed the Medici Grotto, which was only open every hour on the hour, we saw it through the fence though. I don't really know what a grotto is, other than the one at the Playboy mansion! It looked like statues in a cave made of salt or something.

That night we went out for Mexican, which was delicious and had fantastic half price margaritas.